TMZ.com

Book worms are turning to a holy trinity to bring them light and guidance in the coronavirus pandemic ... Carrie Underwood, Jessica Simpson and Jesus Christ.

Here's the deal ... book sales are up across the board as more and more Americans are ordered to shelter at home to avoid spreading the virus, and Carrie and Jessica are two of the most popular authors.

Carrie's book, "Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Find Your Soul," is No. 5 on the Top 50 list of best-selling books from all publishers ... according to NPD BookScan. From March 15-21, the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Carrie's book sold 10,741 copies.

Jessica ain't far behind ... her page-turner, "Open Book," is No. 8 on NPD BookScan's Top 50 list ... with 8,236 copies sold in the same time frame.

But, don't sleep on the Good Book ... as always, the Bible is super popular in times of crisis and uncertainty.

Folks at Tyndale House Publishers and LifeWay Christian Resources tell TMZ ... Bible sales are going strong as people look for ways to explore and deepen their faith in the face of COVID-19.

Tyndale House says Bible sales were up 55% this March compared to 2019, and most purchases are coming online.

Seems Carrie and Jessica are in pretty good company.

Adam Schlesinger -- co-founder of the "Stacy's Mom" band Fountains of Wayne -- is fighting for his life as he battles COVID-19.

Adam's girlfriend tells TMZ ... he's been hospitalized in upstate NY and is currently on a ventilator. She says Adam "has been sedated to facilitate his recovery. He is in critical condition, but his condition is improving slightly and we are cautiously optimistic."

A fan page for the 52-year-old singer's current band, Ivy, claims Adam's been on a ventilator for 2 weeks and is in a medically induced coma. Adam's longtime lawyer, Josh Grier, refuted that ... telling Variety "no one has used the word 'coma' to me."

Adam's GF didn't say it either when we spoke to her.

Adam co-wrote "Stacy's Mom" with Fountains of Wayne lead singer Chris Collingwood. The band dropped the track in 2003 and it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 -- but the music video, starring Rachel Hunter, etched the song in pop culture.

Country star Joe Diffie -- who skyrocketed to fame with his hit "John Deere Green" -- has died from the coronavirus ... this according to his team.

The Grammy-winning singer passed away Sunday due to complications from the disease known as COVID-19, so says his management company, Adkins Publicity. Diffie had just gone public with his positive diagnosis two days ago on Friday, posting a message to Facebook.

He wrote, "I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)." He went on, "My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic."

Joe had countless singles land on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart throughout the '90s and into the early 2000s, including 5 that peaked at #1. Those songs include "Home," "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)," "Third Rock from the Sun," "Bigger Than the Beatles," and "Pickup Man." The latter was the longest-lasting #1 hit, at four weeks.

He's perhaps best known, though, for his catchy tune "John Deere Green," which peaked at #5 on the charts. The track appeared on his third album, "Honky Tonk Attitude," and helped the record receive platinum certification. He produced 12 studio albums over the course of his career. His collab track "Same Old Train" won a Grammy in 1998.

Diffie had been married at least three times in his life. His wife at time of death was Tara Terpening Diffie, with whom he has a daughter.

The Weeknd defied the odds for success after he refused to put his album release on ice in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic ... and now he looks like a genius!!!

Here's the deal ... The Weeknd announced a March 20 release date for his new project "After Hours" long before the virus reached the United States ... and made the difficult decision to keep the date as things got serious.

We're told there were fears the album would flop because of a lack of marketing opportunities ... TV appearances were drying up as the outbreak started shutting down Hollywood.

Artists like Lady Gaga had already postponed her own project, "Chromatica."

The Weeknd trusted his work and his fans, and wanted to push forward with the release ... so he made the ultimate decision to drop the album, giving people a much-needed distraction and some joy in a dark time.

So far, The Weeknd's looking pretty smart ... the album passed 1 BILLION streams in its first week, and the first day saw 100 million streams. At one point, "After Hours" songs held the top 12 spots on the Apple Music Top 100.

Jon Bon Jovi's already got some winning song lyrics to his finish-the-story type community song -- and he might wanna consider hiring some of these folks ... 'cause they're good.

The rocker picked out three verses to finish out his made-up tune called "Do What You Can, Our Story" -- which he kicked off last weekend with a verse of his own and the chorus. Welp, people heard his call loud and clear ... JBJ says he's received countless submissions across several different platforms. Some performed it, others just wrote their lyrics.

The three submissions Jon played out live on camera were incredibly well-written and, obviously, topical to the coronavirus outbreak everyone's dealing with right now. Our particular favorite ... Jeffrey Baron, via YouTube, whose verse sounds like it's from Bob Dylan's songbook or something. Well done.

The whole venture's pretty neat -- because Jon set up the rhythm and cadence of the song fairly easily in his first post ... it's relatively easy for people to plug in their own verses seamlessly. Jon sings off their verse, and then weaves in his own hook right after.

He says he's gonna keep it going and keep singing people's lyrics, so he encourages more submissions and more participation. Unclear if he'll eventually pick a few verses as his favorite and deem the ultimate winner, but for now ... it seems like there's a lot he likes.

Slim Thug is imploring folks in Houston -- and young people everywhere -- to start taking coronavirus seriously, and he hopes his diagnosis is a wake-up call.

The H-town rapper joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us too many people in his hometown are taking the pandemic lightly, and it's time for everyone to open their eyes to the danger. In fact, Houston and surrounding Harris County have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases this week.

Slim said he was being super cautious weeks ago, wearing gloves and masks, but he still managed to contract the virus ... and his worst fears were confirmed with Tuesday's positive test.

He said he can tell people continue to bury their heads in the sand because some think he's getting paid to say he has the virus. Houston finally issued a "stay at home" order Wednesday, but Slim says he was shocked to see spring breakers earlier this month packing nightclubs.

Bottom line for Slim ... the fact he got infected despite actively trying to protect himself should make people think twice about refusing to stay at home.

Elton John's trading his usual sold-out arena shows for something much simpler -- playing maestro for a series of living room concerts ... to help fight the coronavirus.

Sir Elton will be hosting iHeart Radio's 'Living Room Concert for America' next week. It's an hour-long FOX TV and online benefit concert to support heroic healthcare workers and first responders on the frontline of the pandemic.

The living room performers include Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Tim McGraw, Billie Joe Armstrong, Backstreet Boys, Mariah Carey and more.

The artists will each perform a set from their own homes -- recorded on their personal phones -- in order to continue practicing the "stay at home" and social distancing guidelines.

Viewers will be encouraged to donate to 2 charitable groups helping both COVID-19 victims and workers as part of the musical pledge drive. Those groups are Feeding America and First Responders Children's Foundation.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought live concerts to a total standstill, but the music industry is still set on churning out new tunes ... and producers are increasingly working from home and getting super creative.

Music industry sources tell TMZ ... recording studios across Los Angeles and New York City have all closed due to the virus, forcing lots of music producers to build mobile studios in their homes, where they can still make beats and record tracks.

Our sources tell us music producers are increasingly turning to video chats and streaming services to brainstorm ideas, collab and record pieces of songs with other producers.

We're told producers are still working directly with their artists to write and collab, but the interactions are going digital now that face-to-face meetings are highly discouraged due to COVID-19.

As you know ... Lady Gaga announced Tuesday she's delaying the release of her upcoming album, "Chromatica," in light of the outbreak, joining a growing list of artists and festivals that have seen disruptions on account of coronavirus.

It's likely just the tip of the iceberg, but our music industry sources say albums won't be delayed because they aren't finished. We're told home studios can essentially do everything traditional sessions can do, and pushing back release dates is more about marketing concerns.

Camila Cabello says she's putting her upcoming world tour on ice before it even begins ... because things just ain't safe out there due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The "Senorita" singer announced Tuesday she's postponing her "Romance" tour, which was set to kick off in May and make stops across Europe and the United States, areas that are being ravaged by the virus.

Camila says she's postponing the tour as an extreme precaution and to protect her fans, team, dancers, band, crew and loved ones.

Concerts and social distancing just don't mix, and Camila says she can't even get her group together to start rehearsing. The singer is hoping to reschedule as soon as possible.